


Revelations

by Laparoscopic



Series: EGS [11]
Category: El Goonish Shive
Genre: Aberrations, F/M, Fairy dolls, LIttle Teddy, Little Gracie, Little Nase, Little Suze, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 03:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15234648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laparoscopic/pseuds/Laparoscopic
Summary: It’s been over four years since the battle at the mall. Four years since Susan had last seen an aberration. She had hoped she was done with them, that Pandora had actually succeeded in wiping out the entire race. Alas, that was not quite the case...





	Revelations

It was Susan’s last cast party. Her final performance at Brown University was over, the last curtain call rung down. The last show she would work with this circle of friends. Quite possibly the last show she would ever do, unless she went on to do community theatre. Susan usually had to be persuaded to attend end-of-show cast parties, but this time she didn’t. She felt a surge of sentimental bittersweet sorrow, to be saying goodbye to so many people. Some few she might remain in touch with after graduation—her boyfriend Marco was a given, of course; Tomina, almost certainly; maybe even Divya and Jacques. But she knew that all the others, despite assurances that they would keep in touch, would undoubtedly drift away over time, relegated to memories of her undergraduate life. Those who went on to perform in professional theatre would undoubtedly keep in touch with each other, in the name of networking if nothing else, but she was headed to grad school, not off-off-Broadway.

Susan sat at the end of a couch in the basement by the dance floor, slowly nursing the single beer she allowed herself. She chatted (at the top of her lungs, over the music) with anyone who sat down next to her. It was usually someone hot and sweaty, taking a break from the dancing that was going on in front of her. Although Susan found Rochelle annoying most of the time, she had to concede that she _was_ an excellent DJ, keeping the party hopping. Susan kept her eyes on the crowd in the middle of the room as she talked with the various resting dancers, fondly tracking Marco as he worked his way through a dozen different partners.

Tomina threw herself down on the couch next to her, breathing heavily. “Why aren’t you out there dancing with your sweetie?” she asked, for what felt to Susan like the dozenth time. Susan shot her a tolerant amused glance.

“Have there been reports of Wilbur taking flight?”

Tomina twisted the cap off a beer bottle, took a swig, and rolled her eyes. “Come on, you’re dating the best dancer in the ensemble. Why aren’t you taking advantage of that?”

“I _am_. I’m enjoying watching him.”

Tomina looked at the dancing crowd, and nodded. “I’ll concede that he’s worth watching, for that butt alone if nothing else—”

“Watch it,” said Susan, mock warningly.

“—but he’s even more fun to _move_ with.”

“Feel free. Again. You’ve already danced with him three times.”

“Not that you’re counting or anything.”

“Mostly I was wondering why you were dancing with him, and not with Nikole.”

“Eh…” Tomina waggled her bottle from side to side, then took another swallow. She glanced across the room, where Susan could see Nikole chatting with Rochelle, then she looked away and grimaced. “I think…that one has run its course.”

“Again?” Susan said, without thinking.

Tomina glowered at her. “ _Some_ of us like a little variety, Miss I’ve-only-ever-dated-one-guy.” She looked back out at Marco. “And most of us don’t get that lucky our first time at bat.”

“Heh. I _was_ lucky,” Susan conceded. “Though it wasn’t my first time at bat.” Then she bit her tongue and grimaced. Unfortunately, Tomina was close enough to hear her, even over the loud music. She pounced on the statement.

“Oho? You mean you have a dark secret past that none of us know about?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Susan. “Wild and crazy T. Susan Pompoms, toking in the girls’ room? Skipping classes to go skinny dipping? Sleeping your way through the high school football team?”

Susan burst out laughing, amused and unoffended. Tomina knew her well enough to know just how ridiculous those ideas were. “Hardly.” She upended her beer bottle, swallowed the last bit, then put down the empty bottle. “More like sleeping with the D&D club. In spirit, anyway.”

“Do tell.” Tomina leaned in closer, a salacious gleam in her eyes.

Susan shrugged. “Not much to tell. Just a few…friends. Who were friendly. Nothing romantic.”

“A _few_? ‘Who were friendly’? What kind of euphemism is _that_?”

Susan glanced sidelong at her friend. “Exactly the kind you think it is.”

“Hookups? Fuck buddies?”

Susan winced a little at the crude terms. “Not…that casual. I don’t do casual. I love them. They love me. Just…not romantically.”

Tomina picked up on the tense. “Love? Not loved?” She blinked. “Wait a minute, ‘they’—are you talking ‘bout Sarah? And Tedd and Grace?”

Susan stared at Tomina for a moment, disconcerted. “How did you figure _that_ one out?”

Tomina raised her bottle in salute. “ ’M not as stupid as I look. Also, they’re about the only people ‘sides Marco that you hug on a regular basis.”

“Oh. True.” Sarah was studying art at RISD, which was just a couple blocks away from Brown. It had been a wonderful thing having her oldest friend so close, these past three years. They’d been sharing a flat with Tomina this past year. Susan was going to miss having Sarah around when she graduated.

Tomina shook her head and grinned. “Friends with _very_ nice benefits. Grace and Sarah are cuties. Tedd’s not too bad either, in a nerdy sort of way. But…I thought you weren’t into girls.”

Susan shrugged. “Not…as a general rule. I’m mostly just attracted to people. _Usually_ those people are male. But occasionally—not.” _And sometimes those females become male, or vice versa, but never mind that…_

Tomina looked startled. “Huh. Learned something new about you.” She drained the rest of her beer with one long pull, then heaved herself up off the couch. “Well, if you’re not gonna dance with your honey-buns, I will.” Susan lifted a hand in farewell as Tomina dove back onto the dance floor.

Talking with Tomina about Sarah, Tedd, and Grace got her to thinking about magic again. And what to tell Marco, regarding the same.

She _had_ told him that he was the fourth man she’d ever had sex with. What she hadn’t told him, of necessity, was that two of those previous three men were usually women. And that one of those women was a current housemate. She sighed as she contemplated how on earth she could bring up the subject with him.

Susan had worried about all manner of things that could get in the way of her having a fulfilling relationship with another person. Her germ phobia, her discomfort with being touched, her occasionally prickly personality. She had considered all these problems, tackled them in therapy and in her day-to-day life, and she’d tried to work her way through to solutions that would allow her to date. Which for the most part she had.

She had known Marco for a few years, and they had been dating for more than a year now, and she had to admit that she was as smitten as it was possible to be. She understood better now how Sarah felt about Tedd and Grace. She occasionally caught herself staring at Marco with the same sort of goofy, love-struck smile on her face that she’d seen on Sarah, Tedd, or Grace at various times.

She didn’t think she was deluding herself when she thought he was as happy with her as she was with him. They even had what Susan would call (in late-night private conversations with Sarah) a very satisfactory sex life. Maybe not as creative and diverse as Sarah and Grace and Tedd’s, but it was emotionally fulfilling. And fun.

But there was one final barrier between them that she hadn’t anticipated and planned for. Hadn’t hashed out with a therapist. The one thing she hadn’t considered how to deal with in a long-term relationship was magic. _I guess I just subconsciously assumed that anyone I dated would already be “in the know.”_

Susan had been wondering for months when she should tell Marco about magic. About her fairy dolls, her weapons. About aberrations, and sex-changing ex-lovers. It was a big step to take, but the closer she grew to him, the more _not_ telling him felt like she was lying to him. Holding part of her self back from him.

And she didn’t _want_ to hold anything back from him.

She wasn’t afraid of him disbelieving her. She could prove her statements, could summon magic weapons or fairy dolls, tangible proof that she wasn’t crazy, or lying. He would have to take the aberrations— _vampires_ , as Sarah insisted on calling them—on faith, but given all the other things she could prove, she had no reason to believe he would draw the line at that particular item. But she wondered if it would scare him off. If he could deal with the radical shift to his world-view that embracing the reality of magic (and aliens, but that could come later…) would bring.

She sighed, and considered getting a second beer. Then she looked at Tomina and Marco on the dance floor, and enumerated the number of beers she’d seen Tomina go through tonight. She probably ought to stay sober, and she was a featherweight when it came to alcohol. She got up and headed to the kitchen to find herself a soda.

 

* * *

 

Around two a.m., Marco left the dance floor and found Susan on the front porch, where she’d been chatting with Divya. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, smiling. He leaned in for a kiss, but Susan lifted a hand to stop him.

“I love you dearly, but you are _dripping_ with sweat. Come back when you’re less soggy.”

Marco laughed, and lifted his t-shirt to wipe at his face. Susan ignored the sexy little growl Divya gave at the sight of his abs, although she had to agree with the sentiment. Her boyfriend _was_ yummy.

When he wasn’t soggy.

“There. Is my face dry enough to be kissable now?” Marco leaned in towards her, puckering up. Susan laughed, and gave him a brief buss.

“What are you doing out here without your jacket?” Susan asked. “You’re going to freeze your butt off.” The cool spring air still had a slight nip of winter to it, and she and Divya were bundled up.

“Looking for you. And cooling down. You ready to go home soon?”

Susan glanced at Divya, who waved a hand at them. “I was thinking of packing it in soon, myself.”

Susan nodded to Marco. “Sure. Sounds good. Have you seen Tomina recently?”

“Sprawled on the couch in the basement when I came up. Think we should drag her home?”

“Eh…probably,” Susan sighed. “She’s been drowning her sorrows, and I’m afraid if we leave her she’ll just keep drinking.”

“You’re too kind,” said Divya.

Susan snorted. “It’s enlightened self-interest. I don’t want to have to listen to her moaning and vomiting tomorrow.”

“If we drag her home now, we can pour some water and ibuprofen into her before she collapses into bed. Minimize damages,” said Marco.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Susan, as they headed back inside.

Tomina wasn’t falling-down drunk, but she was definitely listing-to-starboard drunk. Susan would rather have been arm-in-arm with Marco, but Tomina ended up between the two of them, arms draped over their shoulders for stability as they walked down the dark sidewalk back towards their house. Susan listened with half an ear as Tomina ran down a lengthy rambling list of Nikole’s assorted flaws and virtues.

“An’ she allus--always squeezed the toothpaste tube in the middle,” Tomina groused. “Lube tube, too.” She giggled. “Lube tube, lube tube, lube tube, we are looking for lube tubes…”

Susan sighed and shared a commiserating glance with her boyfriend on the other side of Tomina. Her attention was jerked away from Marco when Tomina stumbled a little, and moaned, “Oh, I don’ feel so good…” She produced a series of retching sounds that sent Susan hurriedly lurching away, vestigial traces of her germ phobia propelling her out of the splash radius. As she pushed away from Tomina, her sudden absence from Tomina support caused all three of them to stumble to their knees.

“Whoops!” exclaimed Tomina, giggling, her nausea apparently gone as quickly as it had arrived. Susan heard a whoosh and a _thump_ of something else hitting the ground behind them, simultaneous with a splash of magic energy rippling across her nerves. It felt cold and slimy, more repellent than drunken vomit could ever be.

She didn’t have time to think. She spun on her knees, raising a hand to summon her sword in the same motion. The faintly glowing weapon materialized just in time; the aberration that had tried to pounce on them was bounding back toward them. Susan swung fast and hard, not having time to aim a deadly blow, but it was sufficient to drive the creature back a step. That allowed her a moment to scramble to her feet. She braced in a ready position, her lessons with Raven having drilled the stance into her. She kept Tomina and Marco behind her, and eyed the aberration. It looked basically human at first glance, but even as she examined it, its form warped and shifted, its face stretching and widening into a shark-like mouth, and its fingers grew disturbingly long and clawed. The light from her gently glowing sword reflected bright in its oversized black eyes.

“Sssome lovely ’idnight snacksss,” hissed the creature.

Susan let her left hand drop away from the sword for a moment, and she summoned a trio of shurikens, flicking them rapidly at the aberration. She didn’t strike the creature, hadn’t really expected to, but they served to keep it at bay for a moment. As she returned her her hand to the grip of the sword, she deliberately let her stance waver a little, dropping the point of the sword as if she didn’t know what she was doing. It was a sucker move, and probably wouldn’t work if the aberration was at all experienced, but she had discussed the tactic with Raven.

“Mother wiped out most of the aberrations in the world,” he’d said. “So the odds are fairly good that the next aberrations you encounter will be newly created. You can’t count on that, of course, but if you _do_ get lucky, you might be able to take it out using techniques that would be ineffective against older, more experienced monsters.” He’d smiled grimly. “Centuries-old aberrations grew up in a time of swords. But modern ones will only know sword play from movies and the like. They might not respect a sword the way they would a gun. Which will give you an advantage.”

So Susan let her sword-tip drop, leaving an opening to invite attack, and she plastered a terrified expression on her face. It was all acting; she was somewhat amazed at how calm she actually felt, but the face she showed to her attacker was one of uncertainty and fear.

_That’s right, asshole. Look at me, so frightened, tasty, easy prey. Come and get it._

Almost to her surprise, the aberration obliged, jumping higher than a human could, trying to pounce upon her from above. Susan let her fearful expression drop, her face shifting to a grim smile as she pivoted gracefully to the side and whipped the sword up and across. She aimed not for the head or torso, where it might have anticipated a blow, but she instead aimed at its legs. She lopped off both of its legs just above the knees, the magic sword slicing easily thorough flesh and bone. The impact of the blow caused the sword to disappear, its magic exhausted. She had anticipated that, and didn’t allow the loss of the object’s momentum in her hands to cause her to stumble. The two severed leg segments turned to blackened ash and blew away.

The aberration tumbled to the ground, shrieking in agony. It rolled over and tried to push itself up on its hands. Its lipless, shark-like mouth rendered it words barely intelligible as it snarled, “You _itch!”_

Susan calmly re-summoned her sword, carefully stepped up to the prone aberration, and drove the point of her sword through its chest.

The creature tried to swipe at her with unnaturally long fingered hands as it died, but it crumbled to ash and dust just before the blow would have connected with her legs. Susan gazed at it for a long second, making sure it was well and truly dead, then she spun in a circle, sword held at the ready, scanning for another attacker. She knew that aberrations hated their own kind, and rarely worked together, but she’d seen a half dozen of them working together in a mall just four years ago. She took nothing for granted.

Then she muttered a curse to herself, as she realized she wasn’t using her full resources. Of course, that would mean revealing her fairy dolls to Marco and Tomina, but the magical cat was out of the bag. Better safe than dead; she could explain later. She took a breath, and cast another summoning spell.

Little Suze and Little Nase _popped_ into existence in front of her. “Suze. Nase. Eyes high,” she snapped. She didn’t really need to talk to the dolls, as they were controlled by her thoughts, but for some reason it always felt better to verbalize. They began flying in quick, expanding circles around her, scanning the area. She braced herself as she tried to process the visual input from three different perspectives, two of them moving rapidly. It wasn’t something she liked to do, as it was literally dizzying, but she could maintain it for a half a minute or so. Long enough to determine that, if there _had_ been any other aberrations in the area, they had cleared out at the sight of the magic sword, and/or the destruction of the first aberration.

She sighed and lowered her sword from the ready stance, then turned back to Marco and Tomina. She realized she was breathing heavily; her exertions had been brief, but intense, and the adrenaline was still burning in her veins.

Tomina was still sprawled on the ground, staring up wide-eyed at the fairy dolls that had returned to hover at Susan’s shoulders. “Someone musta’ spiked my drink,” Tomina said slowly. “I _know_ I didn’t drink enough to be seeing little pixies.”

Marco clambered to his feet, staring at Susan like he’d never seen her before. Susan grimaced. _Shit. I hope…_ She shook her head, and reached down with her left hand to pull Tomina to her feet. Tomina kept staring at Little Suze. She blinked rapidly several times, as if trying to clear her vision, then her attention shifted to Susan. She her expression turned puzzled. “You—you’re… _blonde_.”

Susan noticed a pale length of her hair spilling over her shoulder, and she brushed it back out of the way. “I know. It happens.” She waited a moment, to make sure Tomina wasn’t going to fall over again, but the excitement seemed to have burned off some of her drunk. She swayed slightly in place, but was relatively steady.

“It _happens?”_ Tomina repeated incredulously. “Wait a second, that pixie looks like you. Kinda. Am I tripping?”

Susan sighed. “No, you’re not tripping. They’re my fairy dolls.”

“Fairy dolls? _Yours_?” said Tomina

Susan turned to face Marco. He was still staring at her, looking dumbfounded. “Hey, love,” she said quietly. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting her breathing finally return to normal. Marco continued to stare, then he startled slightly as Susan put her hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” he finally responded, shaking his head a little. He glanced down at the glowing sword still grasped in her right hand, then back up, his gaze flicking left and right as he took in Little Nase and Little Suze. Then he turned and looked at the pile of ash that had been an aberration. “That man. You…you killed him.”

Susan winced. _Okay, I_ ** _really_** _should have introduced him to the world of magic before this_ , she thought, then shoved the regret aside. It was too late for that now. “It. I killed _it_ ,” she corrected. “It wasn’t human.” _Not anymore_ , whispered a voice inside her, but she repressed that thought too. “It was an aberration.”

Reminded, she sent Little Suze and Little Nase on another quick circle around them, double-checking for other predators. Tomina spun in place, watching them fly, then she grabbed onto Marco for stability as she began to tilt a little bit to the side. She gave a delighted little giggle as she watched the fairy dolls. Little Nase finished the circuit in front of Tomina, where it gave her a little mid-air curtsey, grinning wide, much to Tomina’s delight. Little Suze hovered by Marco’s shoulder, looking at him with worry on its small face.

“Aberration? Not human?” Marco blinked, looking between Susan and the ash pile. “Uh. Yeah. I guess people don’t turn to dust when they’re killed.”

“Not usually, no.” Susan hesitated, then offered, “Maybe we can talk about it back at our place? Not standing here in the middle of the park?”

“Park. Right.” He frowned at her sword, still glowing gently in her right hand. “Where did you get that sword from? Is it…a prop?”

Susan lifted the point of the sword to her forehead in a salute, and gave a small, satisfied smile. Her relief at having comported herself well in battle made her feel a little giddy as the adrenaline wore off. She was pleased that her training with Raven had worked so well. “Not a prop,” she said. “Not hardly.” She released the handle, and also the magic that summoned it to her, and it disappeared.

“ _Coooolll_ ,” said Tomina, grinning. Marco just stared, even more wide-eyed.

Susan choked back a slightly hysterical laugh. “Yeah. I guess it _is_ pretty cool.” She sent Little Suze and Little Nase up above the trees ahead of them, to check their path.

The distraction of the fairy dolls gone, Marco focused more attention on her. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, and looked at her more carefully. “Why _are_ you blonde?”

Susan sighed. “Long story. It’s _all_ a long story. I’ll tell you all about it when we get home.” She wanted to keep a hand on Marco, to stay in contact with him. Tomina seemed sober enough that she no longer needed to be in the middle, so Susan slung an arm around each of their shoulders and started walking. “Come on, let’s get home before something else tries to eat us.”

 

* * *

 

Susan and Tomina shared the top floor of a house with Sarah. When Susan pushed open the door to their flat, Sarah was stretched out on the couch asleep, several books, her laptop, and a swath of papers spread out around her and on the coffee table next to her. Sarah opened her eyes as they entered the room, and she looked up at the trio and blinked blearily at them.

“Sarah? Why aren’t you in bed?” Susan asked. Tomina and Marco followed her into the room.

“Mwah?” Sarah squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them again and slowly sat up. “Uh. Paper. Thought it was due Wednesday. But it’s due tomorrow. I…” She trailed off as she looked up and noticed Susan’s appearance for the first time. Her eyes went wide and she sat up straighter. “Susan? Your hair! Did you…oh, _shit_.”

Little Suze and Little Nase flew into the room behind the other three, and swooped over to land on the couch beside Sarah. Little Suze snuggled up against her. Sarah looked from the fairy dolls to Marco and Tomina.

Both Marco and Tomina were watching the fairy dolls quite closely too, Marco looking faintly stunned, Tomina still looking delighted. Sarah looked to Susan, and asked, “Susan, what happened? Are they…uh…”

“We were attacked by an aberration on the way home from the party,” said Susan bluntly. Sarah gasped and stood up, spilling a book and several papers to the floor as she did so. Little Suze grabbed onto her hair for support, and ended up perched on Sarah’s shoulder. Sarah suddenly didn’t look at all sleepy.

“A vampire? _Here_? But I thought—didn’t Pandora destroy them all?”

“ _Vampire_?” said Tomina. “You called it an aberration.”

Susan groaned softly and headed into the kitchen nook. She grabbed the kettle off the stove and asked, “Who wants some tea?” as she refilled it at the sink.

Tomina snorted, and tore her gaze away from the fairy dolls. “After all _this_? I want a shot and a chaser. Maybe two shots.”

Susan glanced at her, gauging how serious she was, then countered, “How about tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”

Tomina sighed. “Yeah. Prob’ly a better choice. But make mine chamomile. I want to sleep tonight.” She threw herself onto the armchair, draped across it sideways. She tilted her head back, so she was looking at Marco upside-down. He was still standing just inside the doorway, staring at the fairy dolls. “You gonna stand there all night, Marc?”

Marco took a deep breath, and looked away from the fairy dolls. He nodded. “Right. Sorry. Just…thinking.” He dropped his jacket on the coatrack, and sat down on the edge of the couch at the opposite end from Sarah and the dolls, as Sarah also sat back down. She shoved her papers and books together into a stack and placed them on the coffee table.

“Welcome to the world of magic,” said Sarah drily. “Sorry you had to have such a nasty introduction.”

“Magic,” repeated Marco flatly.

“Yup.” Sarah gave him a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

“I will?” Marco’s attention shifted to Little Suze, perched on Sarah’s shoulder. “That pixie looks like Susan. The other one…she looks like your friend Nanase?” he essayed hesitantly. Nanase had visited Susan and Sarah a couple of times last fall, while she was doing an internship in nearby Boston.

“Yup,” agreed Sarah. “We call them fairy dolls.”

“Fairy dolls. Right. That’s what Susan said.” Marco nodded slowly, as if trying to make sense of the term.

Susan sighed, then sent the dolls flying to her room. She had hoped neither Marco nor Tomina would notice the resemblance to Nanase, but it had been a pretty slim hope.

Marco and Tomina watched the fairy dolls go. “Although the one that looks like you, she’s, uh…” Marco trailed off, blushing slightly.

“She’s got bigger tits’n ass,” provided Tomina helpfully. “P’portionally speaking.” Sarah chuckled.

“Um. Yeah. That,” agreed Marco.

Susan grimaced. “Yes, well, when Nanase created it for me, she was wearing a slightly modified version of my form.” Then she paused as she realized just how little that sentence would explain to someone not familiar with fairy dolls, or transformations. Or magic in general. She pulled four mugs out of the drying rack and set them up with tea bags while waiting for the kettle to boil.

“When _Nanase_ created it?” said Marco. “What—how—”

Sarah interrupted with more pressing questions. “Where did the vampire attack you? Was it just one?”

“Vampire?” Tomina repeated.

Susan grimaced and ignored Tomina. “We were near Patterson park, walking back from the cast party. It was just the one, I think. I didn’t see any others, and I sent Little Suze and Little Nase out on a search pattern a couple of times.” She hesitated, then added, “It must have been fairly new. It was surprisingly easy to kill, actually.”

“Oh? How’re you feeling about that?” asked Sarah, a look of concern in her eyes.

Susan paused a moment, staring at the empty mug in front of her as she considered the question. She was a bit surprised at how little the memory of killing the aberration bothered her this time.

“Fine, actually. I think…working with Raven. Learning more about aberrations, getting a better sense of what they are. How they get that way. How truly _evil_ they are. Removed a lot of my hesitancy about killing them when necessary.”

“Have you let the DEA know about this yet?” Sarah asked.

“Crap. No. Didn’t even think of that,” Susan admitted. She groaned. The thought of dealing with the paranormal agency at this hour of the night was just exhausting.

“Want me to?” asked Sarah sympathetically.

“Would you? Thanks.”

“The Drug Enforcement Agency?” said Marco blankly. “What do they have to do with…aberrations?”

“Department of External Affairs,” said Sarah. “Think of them as the Men in Black, though they hate being called that.” She dug her phone out from under a pile of papers on the coffee table, and texted a fairly lengthy note, checking with Susan for a few details as she went. Susan finished preparing the tea and brought the four steaming mugs to the living room.

Hitting _send_ , Sarah said, “There. I let Kay know. Though if you don’t want to spend the rest of the night answering her questions, I’d shut off my phone now, if I were you.” Sarah suited actions to words, and tossed her phone back onto the table. Susan sank wearily onto the couch next to Marco and sipped at her tea.

Tomina giggled. “Seriously? Your contact with the MiB is named _Kay_?”

Sarah grinned. “It’s not Tommy Lee Jones, alas. It’s Kay Armitage, and I suspect she’s sick of those jokes.”

Susan pulled her phone out of her pocket to set it to silent. She was a little surprised to see that it had survived the battle without damage.

 _Well, it wasn’t really that long of a “battle,”_ she thought. Although it had felt like it had taken forever at the time, looking back, she was pretty sure the whole affair was less than a minute from stumble to ashes. And the hardest fall she’d taken was when she’d pushed away from Tomina, not from anything the aberration had done.

“I guess it’s no surprise that we’d get new vampires forming around here,” mused Sarah. “The kind of nut-jobs who’d willingly become one are probably attracted to Lovecraft’s home.”

Susan grimaced. “That hadn’t occurred to me. Now I wish we lived a few more blocks away from it. Don’t want to be living near an aberration magnet.”

“Well, better _you_ should meet them than some random stranger,” Sarah said. Susan sighed and nodded in reluctant agreement.

“So, wait a minute,” Tomina interrupted, “ _You_ keep calling ‘em aberrations, and _you_ ”—she nodded at Sarah—“call ‘em vampires. So what are they?”

Sarah laughed as Susan groaned. “Aberrations are _not_ vampires in the classical sense. They can go out in daylight, crosses are ineffectual against them, not all of them drink blood.”

“But a lot of them do,” put in Sarah.

Susan waved that aside. “In any event, they’re not formed by getting bitten by another aberration, but by magic and their own evil choices. They’re predators and parasites, who prey on humans’ life energy in order to make themselves immortal. Simply put, they’re evil people who’ve decided that immortality is worth the price of abandoning all of their humanity and morality.”

Tomina shuddered at that description. “But that… _thing_ …you killed. His mouth—his teeth—”

“Most aberrations are shape-shifters, too. They’ll look like normal humans when they’re not hunting.”

“Oh, marvelous,” said Marco. “So…they could be anywhere?”

“Well, yes and no. The _good_ news is that about four years ago, an immortal named Pandora cast a spell that wiped out almost all of the aberrations in the world.”

Tomina froze with her mug half way to her lips. “An _immortal?_ Named _Pandora?_ ”

“The key word being _almost_ all,” Sarah put in. “And since they’re just evil people to begin with, new ones can be created at any time.”

“But the current population of aberrations is a small fraction of what it was a few years ago. And is likely to remain that way for a while. This one today is the first one I’ve seen in four years.”

Marco looked at her, slightly agog. “Did you see a lot of them, before then?” he asked.

“Well, no. Only one before then. But I was a newly awakened hunter at that point, so I wouldn’t have seen many before then.”

“Hunter? Awakened?” Marco asked.

The blank looks on Tomina’s and Marco’s faces told Susan that that explanation hadn’t really helped clear up anything. She sighed and stood up.

“Come into my room, let me show you something.”

They trailed Susan into her room. Marco and Tomina glanced up at a motion on her book shelves, spotting Little Nase and Little Suze sitting there. Little Nase waved cheerily at them, and Tomina giggled and waved back. Little Suze just watched Marco, a somber expression on its face.

Susan set her tea down on her dresser, and pulled her weapons chest out of her closet. As she knelt in front of it to open it, Marco and Sarah sat down on the edge of the bed, and Tomina plopped herself into a beanbag chair by the dresser. She sloshed a little tea on herself as she did so, but she didn’t seem to notice it.

“At the risk of sounding melodramatic, this is my magic treasure chest,” said Susan.

Tomina began to laugh. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” Susan flipped up the lid, revealing a couple of neatly folded sweaters.

“Does it magically keep the moths away from your sweaters?” asked Marco drily.

Susan rolled her eyes at him. “Very funny. These are just protective coloration.” She removed the sweaters and placed them on her desk. “Also, sometimes I get cold, and like to be able to summon a sweater to me.”

Underneath the sweaters were three other fairy dolls, all inert, a few cheap looking watches, and an assortment of weapons, chief among them being Susan’s sword.

“That’s…your boyfriend and girlfriend, right?” Marco said to Sarah, spotting the Little Gracie and Little Teddy fairy dolls. Sarah nodded. “Does that mean they’re in on this magic stuff too?”

“In spades,” said Sarah. "Susan and I are just low powered talented amateurs by comparison.”

“You?” asked Tomina, as she sat up to peer into the chest. “You’re a wizard too?”

Sarah hesitated a moment, then waggled a hand in a so-so gesture. “I’m…complicated. Let’s just focus on one thing at a time right now.” She nodded toward Susan, redirecting Tomina’s attention.

“So, I can summon anything that’s in this chest to me,” said Susan. She held out her hand in front of her, and the sword disappeared from the chest, appearing in her hand. Its faint glow was barely visible in the room’s light.

“Wow,” said Tomina, wide eyed.

“Most ordinary weapons aren’t much good against aberrations, but they’re vulnerable to magic weapons. Like this one.”

“And are those magic shurikens?” asked Marco, peering into the chest.

“No, just regular ones, but they’re good for distractions. And pain is distracting, even to an aberration.” Susan released her grip on the sword and it returned to the chest. She summoned a shuriken, and with a flick of her wrist, sent it flying toward the bulletin board hanging next to the door. Tomina and Marco jumped slightly at the _thunk_ of it hitting the board dead center. Susan was pleased that her aim was true, even despite the late hour and her post-adrenaline exhaustion.

“So I was given this chest, and the sword, shortly after my magic powers began to form.” Susan decided that the more accurate, in-depth story of how she was conned into becoming an aberration hunter could wait for a later date. “Precisely so that I could hunt, and execute, aberrations.”

“So, wait wait wait, seriously, you’re saying you’re a…a vampire slayer?” asked Tomina, her eyes lighting up.

Sarah chuckled, and Susan sighed. “Aberrations aren’t really vampires—” she began again.

“So, that would make you—Tiffany the Vampire Slayer!” crowed Tomina, her face split wide in a grin.

Susan groaned, and Sarah choked back a laugh. It wasn’t the first time a friend had made that joke. Susan was sorry that she’d ever told Tomina her actual first name. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and muttered to Marco, “When we get married, I’m going to take the opportunity to change my last _and_ first names.” She opened her eyes to see Marco staring at her, a bemused smile on his face. “What?”

“ ‘When we get married?’ ” he repeated. Tomina started giggling even harder at Susan’s abashed expression. Sarah didn’t laugh, but her eyes were bright with a large smile she was hiding behind her hand.

Susan flushed and looked away. _Fuck, I’m too tired to talk straight._ “Oh. I meant, _if_. If we get married. Or whenever I do. To whomever. Someday. I wasn’t assuming…I mean…” _Oh, shit, is there any way I can make this evening even_ ** _more_** _of a train wreck?_

Marco took one of her hands in his, his expression softening to one of affectionate amusement. “I wasn’t protesting,” he said quietly, raising their joined hands to kiss the back of her hand. She gave him an embarrassed smile, then pulled their hands to her to return the kiss. “It just surprised me, was all. That you might be thinking that way, too.”

“Too?” Susan felt a surge of hope at that single word. She smiled back at him. His answering smile held all the warmth and love it normally did, and for the first time since the aberration’s attack, Susan fully relaxed. It didn’t seem that all the magical weirdness was going to scare him off after all.

“Hey! Get a room, you two!” Tomina protested, even though Susan and Marco weren’t doing anything more than smiling at each other. Susan glanced at Tomina.

“We’re _in_ my room. You don’t like it, you can leave.”

“Hmph.” Tomina made as if to rise, but she appeared to be stuck in the beanbag chair. She blinked a couple of times and gave Susan a slightly embarrassed smile.“Uh. Maybe I can?”

Susan laughed, and got up to help Sarah pull Tomina to her feet. “Come on, Mina, let’s leave the love birds alone,” said Sarah.

“Be sure to drink a large glass of water before going to sleep,” Susan admonished her tipsy friend. Tomina let go of Sarah’s supporting hand and wrapped her arms around Susan, squeezing her in a bear hug. Susan went _“Eeep!”_ , then hugged her back, laughing again.

“Thanks,” said Tomina, suddenly sounding serious and sober.

“You’re welcome? For what?”

Tomina pulled away from Susan and looked her in the eye. “For saving my ass. _Our_ asses. From the vampire. Or _whatever_ you want to call it,” she amended, as Susan opened her mouth to correct her.

Susan laughed, a little shakily. “Actually, thank _you_. If you hadn’t, ah, _stumbled_ just then, it might have taken me out before I even knew it was there.”

“Shit. Really?” Tomina shook her head wonderingly. “Never thought being drunk could be a life saver.”

“Well, it’s not, usually. Don’t count on it to keep you safe from monsters in the future.”

Tomina shuddered, and let go of Susan. “When I’m sober, you’re going to tell me _everything_ I _can_ do. To keep safe from the monsters.”

“Deal. G’night, Tomina. See you in the morning.”

“Or afternoon.” She shuffled off down the hall to her room.

Sarah lingered a moment to give Susan a good-night hug. “I’d better get to be your maid of honor,” she murmured softly to Susan as they embraced.

Susan blushed as she squeezed Sarah tight. “Hush, you.”

Sarah laughed, then gave Susan an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “G’night, Marco,” she said as she left, closing the door behind her.

Susan turned to face her bed, where Marco sat, waiting.

“So,” said Marco, smiling enigmatically at her. He patted the bed beside him invitingly, and Susan sat down next to him. He draped an arm across her shoulder, then kissed the side of her head.

“So?” Susan echoed. She turned to face him, and kissed him on the cheek.

“You like the sound of ‘Susan Maiello’?”

Susan shivered a little, to finally hear that name coming out of his mouth. A name she’d only allowed herself to imagine in the privacy of her own mind, never saying it out loud. She smiled bashfully, and admitted, “Yeah. I like it quite a bit, actually.”

“How d’you think your women’s studies advisor is going to react to the idea of you taking my last name?” he asked, sounding like he was only half-joking.

Susan snorted. “All I’ll have to do is ask her who she’d rather list as as co-author on our paper: Susan Maiello, or Tiffany S. Pompoms. She’ll come around quick enough.”

Marco laughed. “I suspect she will.”

“Besides—my body, my choice.”

“Hmm. Well, then, I hope you _choose_ to share your body with _me_ a little,” he said, as he nuzzled her hair.

Susan shot him an incredulous look. “Seriously? It’s almost four a.m.”

Marco kissed the side of her neck, making her shiver. “Yes, but…I just found out magic is real. And my kick-ass vampire-slayer girlfriend just saved my life. And _then_ she accidentally proposed to me.” He kissed her again. “I think there are enough causes for celebration here.” He continued kissing his way down the length of her neck, making rational thought difficult for Susan. She gasped as he nipped her neck, and she swayed slightly as he suddenly stood up, pulling on her hand. “Come on, let’s get all my dance-sweat rinsed off,” he said, as he pulled her toward the bathroom. “Then we can get all sweaty again.”

Susan laughed a bit breathlessly as she followed him, weak-kneed, toward the shower. “You know me so well.”

He gave her a lascivious grin. “And also, I’m curious—how far down does the blonde go?”

Susan chuckled. “You’d better investigate that.”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, after a second quick shower, Susan curled up against Marco and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He stroked her blonde hair, and asked, “Do you have any other deep, dark secrets to share with me? Magic and vampire slaying and pixies—I mean, fairy dolls—is all quite a lot to take in.”

Susan laughed, then she paused, considering. “No. Not really. The rest is all details, I think.” She thought for a few more moments, then added sleepily, “Well, aside from the aliens. And how I lost my virginity to a shape-shifting were-squirrel. But other than that, not much.”

Marco made a little squeaking noise. “Not _much_?” he echoed incredulously. He shook his head. “I’m just realizing—from here on out, I’m never going to be able to tell whether or not you’re pulling my leg.”

Susan giggled, and reached up to kiss him on the mouth. “I’ll tell you all about it in the morning, my love.” She considered the late hour, then amended that to, “Well, in the afternoon. Sweet dreams. I love you.”

“I love you too. My mighty vampire slayer.”

Susan smiled, surprisingly pleased with that appellation. She burrowed in against Marco. _Good night, Susan Maiello,_ she thought happily to herself, then she drifted off to sleep.

 

 


End file.
